Published Oct 1, 2017
Surprising teams inside and out of the AP Top 25 Poll
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Adam Friedman  •  Rivals.com
Rankings Director and National Transfer Portal Analyst
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@RivalsFriedman

Teams overperform and underperform each year. It happens for a number of reasons. When looking at the average ranking of these teams' previous five recruiting classes, here are the five surprising teams inside and outside of the AP Top 25 Poll.

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PROGRAMS SURPRISINGLY INSIDE OF THE TOP 25

5-year average recruiting ranking: 71.6

Current AP Poll ranking: 19

Key contributor: Rashaad Penny

5-year average recruiting ranking: 57.4

Current AP Poll ranking: 18

Key contributors: D'Ernest Johnnson, Quinton Flowers

WASHINGTON STATE

5-year average recruiting ranking: 53.8

Current AP Poll ranking: 11

Key contributors: Luke Falk

WASHINGTON

5-year average recruiting ranking: 40.2

Current AP Poll ranking: 6

Key contributors: Dante Pettis, Myles Gaskin, Jake Browning

TCU

5-year average recruiting ranking: 35.6

Current AP Poll ranking: 8

Key contributors: Kenny Hill

PROGRAMS SURPRISINGLY OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 25

FLORIDA STATE

5-year average recruiting ranking: 4.8

Key contributors: Auden Tate, James Blackman

LSU

5-year average recruiting ranking: 5.8

Key contributors: Danny Etling

TENNESSEE

5-year average recruiting ranking: 12.2

Key contributors: John Kelly, Quinten Dormady

OREGON

5-year average recruiting ranking: 21.6

Key contributors: Royce Freeman, Justin Herbert

MISSISSIPPI STATE

5-year average recruiting ranking: 26.2

Key contributors: Aeris Williams, Nick Fitzgerald